Do I ship it?

Games › Third-Person Shooter › Third-Person Shooter + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Score Attack Third-Person Shooter?

Third-Person Shooter + Score Attack

Of 36 developers who shipped a Score Attack Third-Person Shooter in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 47 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $240 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build. 22 developers shipped in the last year and 47 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 47 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Third-Person Shooter + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.7k → $1.1k → $299 → $119 → $1.3k → $178 → $748 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Third-Person Shooter + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $2.5k (exactly $2,545)
Top 5% $1.1M (exactly $1,137,534)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 109
Announced 47
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 40% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Third-Person Shooter
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Score Attack
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Third-Person Shooter, Score Attack; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Shoot 'Em Up
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Third Person, 3D, Retro
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 103,697 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $450, 1 in 4 over $2.5k, 1 in 20 over $1.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 47 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Third-Person Shooter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RhythmStrong odds6 devs · median $3.3k · 6 announced
  2. + WesternFair15 devs · median $1.4k · 16 announced
  3. + CollectathonLong shot19 devs · median $599 · 20 announced
  4. + Time ManagementLong shot15 devs · median $538 · 12 announced
  5. + Walking SimulatorLong shot27 devs · median $479 · 27 announced
  6. + Class-BasedPoor odds11 devs · median $13k · 53 announced
  7. + Creature CollectorPoor odds12 devs · median $13k · 15 announced
  8. + DinosaursPoor odds8 devs · median $9.0k · 14 announced
  9. + MechsPoor odds38 devs · median $7.2k · 63 announced
  10. + Alternate HistoryPoor odds12 devs · median $6.9k · 70 announced
  11. + Level EditorPoor odds10 devs · median $6.9k · 14 announced
  12. + CraftingPoor odds65 devs · median $5.1k · 156 announced

All 163 pairs on the Third-Person Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Megabonk 2025 · $30M Hitman: Absolution™ 2012 · $30M Orcs Must Die! 2011 · $2.0M Greedland 2025 · $1.1M AFTERBURN 2019 · $96k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Megabonk $9.99 100,202 94% 3.0M $30M (exactly $30,030,539) vedinad
Hitman: Absolution™ older $19.99 49,637 93% 1.5M $30M (exactly $29,767,309) Io-Interactive A/S
Orcs Must Die! older $9.99 6,663 95% 200k $2.0M (exactly $1,996,901) Robot Entertainment
Greedland $12.99 2,919 83% 88k $1.1M (exactly $1,137,534) VaMP He
AFTERBURN older $9.99 321 87% 9.6k $96k (exactly $96,204) MorfeoDev
TOP DOG $9.99 263 88% 7.9k $79k (exactly $78,821) MorfeoDev
閃攻機人アスラ - ASURA THE STRIKER - $14.99 145 91% 4.4k $65k (exactly $65,206) LeftOver
Pang Adventures older $9.99 216 85% 6.5k $65k (exactly $64,735) Dotemu
东方远空界 ~ Ultimate Vitality of Imagination older $9.99 90 83% 2.7k $27k (exactly $26,973) 神心飘游堂
NEKO ARENA older $1.99 444 83% 13k $27k (exactly $26,507) Neko Cloud
Jenny the Witch $7.99 69 88% 2.1k $17k (exactly $16,539) Catbird Soft
Floppy-Ear Chaos $8.99 35 100% 1.1k $9.4k (exactly $9,440) SCRAPIEDEE S.R.L.
KIPIDON: We Will Always Love You $7.99 34 100% 1.0k $8.2k (exactly $8,150) JCPORTALS
Dragon Blaze $9.99 9 100% 270 $2.7k (exactly $2,697) Zerodiv
forever-happy-town $4.99 17 94% 510 $2.5k (exactly $2,545) tjern
CHROMA+ELEKTRON · EA $13.99 4 100% 120 $1.7k (exactly $1,679) Eric·ZDW

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.